Grace in the Old Testament

Tim Davis

It’s a common assumption:

"The Israelites had to earn salvation in the Old Testament by obeying the law; but the New Testament teaches us that we’re saved by grace."

Unfortunately, this common assumption is extremely misleading. 

DON’T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE

The Exodus story is the “salvation story” of the Old Testament. God demonstrates his power over Pharaoh by rescuing the Israelites out of Egypt.

He then leads the Israelites to Mount Sinai where they enter a covenant together. Then, God delivers the stipulations of this agreement—we call this the law. 

But did you catch the order of events?

God saved the Israelites first and then he gave them the law. It’s not the other way around. God was gracious to Israel. He heard their cries. He rescued them. 

The Israelites did nothing to earn salvation.

Salvation first. Law second. Let’s not put the cart before the horse.

A REASON TO REJOICE

Even though we have the sequence of events nailed down, we can still misunderstand the law.

The law didn’t become the means whereby later Israelites earned their salvation, nor did later Israelite generations view it as the requirements of a heavy-handed deity. 

The law was a gift.

Consider the fact that Psalm 119—the longest chapter in the Bible—“is an extended celebration of the law as a gift.”[1]

Why did the Biblical authors treasure the law so much (and, thus, see it so differently than we do today)? To answer that question, you need to put yourself in the sandals of an ancient Israelite living 3,000 years ago. 

Ancient people were eager to know what the “gods” were up to, who the “gods” favored and if the “gods” were on their side in battle. This is why people from this cultural context engaged in activities that are foreign to us today. Ancient “divination experts” interpreted the stars, examined animal intestines and attempted to contact the dead. In their world, this is how you get the “heavenly inside scoop”.

But the God of the Exodus—YHWH—does something other “gods” don’t do. He speaks first. He reveals his will. He initiates. He tells them what he expects. 

To begin, God confirms their identity: “you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples” (Ex 19:5). After he clarifies their identity, he reveals his wisdom through the law—from dietary laws to business dealings and dress codes. In all these ways, the law was a gift! Because without it, how could the Israelites follow his will?

To reiterate, the Israelites didn’t earn salvation through obedience to the law. God already rescued them. He already extended his grace. But his grace didn’t stop there. His gracious acts continued when he gave the Israelites the law. 

So no, the Israelites didn’t earn salvation in the Old Testament. Once we get this, we’ll learn to read the Old Testament Scriptures better and grow to love the God who revealed himself in the Old Testament Scriptures. After all, he’s the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

He’s always been a God of grace.

[1] Carmen Joy Imes, Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, (pg.33).